Hello everyone!
I'd love some feedback on the 4 day cruise out of Port Canaveral to the Bahamas on the Carnival Sensation. I decided on this short jaunt because it will be my first time cruising. That said, I've read some horrible reviews and would love some input. Since I have nothing to compare it to, I'm thinking I would love it! Too, any advice about excursions in Freeport/Nassau...ones to do and others to avoid? I will be reserving a balcony stateroom and wondered if anyone could suggest which deck/area is best?
Thanks so much for reading......
Linda in Pittsburgh:thankyou:
First of all, people are more likely to write to complain than to praise. This is true of anything, be it airlines, hotels, restaurants, the neighborhood dry cleaners ...
I'll give you a real world example. In October 2005 I took a cruise to the Mexican Riviera on the NCL Star. Why? Because my boss likes NCL and I had never (at that time) tried NCL. The cruise was close to home (no flying) and it would give me a chance to see if I liked NCL, as there was another cruise (no longer offered
) that I wanted to try.
Most of the reviews of NCL were negative. However, I approached it with a positive attitude. Now, even though I am not a fan of Freestyle Dining, I still enjoyed the cruise. In fact, I enjoyed it enough to book a $6,000 suite for two weeks in February 2008 on the NCL Jade. That cruise is one of my two favorite cruises of all time (I have taken 16 cruises). And, I am still not a fan of Freestyle cruising.
For the most part it is all in the attitude. Go with a positive attitude and you will have a good time. Go looking for problems and you will find them. Again, a real world example. I wrote a review of my cruise on the NCL Jade. Someone commented that I did not mention several of the problems that she found. After going over her list, it turned out that I had mentioned all but one. In short, she found several "oversights" with my review that in fact had been covered. And what was the one I missed? She said the tables in the buffet were not being cleaned up fast enough. How did she know? Was she sitting there with a stop watch and timing them? Or did she simply see a dirty table and assume the dishes had been there for several minutes? The only thing I did in the buffet was eat. I'm not going to spend my vacation time timing the waitstaff.
Here is something else you will notice if you read enough reviews, two people on the same cruise will give completely different reviews, to the point that if they didn't list the dates and the ship, you would assume they were on different cruises? So, which one is right?
I've seen people give negative reviews because they found dirt under the bed. The only time I look under the bed is when I can't find the remote (and that is where it had fallen).
Have I been on the Carnival Sensation? No. But I have been on the Carnival Paradise. Both are of the same class (the Fantasy class). The Fantasy class ships are excellent ships for the shorter three, four and five night cruises. Fifteen years ago these ships were Carnival's top of the line. As to Carnival itself, I've been on six Carnival cruises and have two more booked, one of which is less than thirty days away.
I think you have made an excellent choice for your first cruise. Go, have fun and explore the ship. If you like it, book a one week cruise. You will find the atmosphere on a one week cruise to be much different than the atmosphere on a four night cruise.